A seagull in an English seaside town acquires a taste for hunting and killing cats. Embarking on a killing spree, the bird inadvertently adds to an adolescent boy’s woes while causing paranoia in local cats. As the cat population diminishes, a brilliant Abyssinian called Joseph chances upon the truth and sets out to restore natural law where cats are the predators, and birds are their victims. Although media and public pressure to catch the cat killer builds, a recession and the uncertainty of Brexit means the underfunded civil service isn’t too interested in solving cat deaths. Eventually, after much public pressure, Constables Franklin and Wilkin are put on the case. Stumbling upon evidence via social media, they find their killer. Unfortunately, their deductive reasoning is flawed, resulting in an innocent teenager taking the fall, adding to his already significant problems. Mrs Crick is only too aware of nature’s cruelty, and although a lover of wildlife, especially the sparrows that play in her garden, nature shocks and scares her sometimes. Having already overcome many traumas in her long life, she suffers more as the seagull and his family reside on her roof. Nature is cruel, but the bloated British civil service is more cruel. And corrupt and stupid, too. Most species try to protect their families, but life is hard, and DNA adapts slowly to cope with environmental changes. While most evolve for the better, humanity seems to get worse and worse. A dark social satire (depending on your point of view), telling a tale about nature, family and politics.
